Degrassi Wiki:Policy/Blocking
Blocking is the means by which an administrator prevents a user account or IP address/range from editing the Degrassi Wiki. Blocks are preventive rather than punitive measures used to prevent damage by dealing with vandalism and enforcing Degrassi Wiki policies. Block duration may vary, depending on the severity and longevity of vandalism, but in most instances a block can be lifted if the editor agrees to stop the damaging behavior. All users may post block requests at an admins talk page. Because of the dynamic nature of IPs, and the related risk of collateral damage, most blocks should be in the range of 24 hours to 1 month, with exceptions noted below. Only in very rare cases should non-proxy IPs be blocked for more than three months. When considering blocking, it is important to remember the axiom "Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity" — article blanking or addition of fanon may be just a well-meant attempt to remove inaccurate information or expand the encyclopedia. Always assume good faith, but remember that the rules apply to everyone equally. Grounds for blocking #'Vandalism' – Vandalism is defined as any bad-faith edit made with the intent to lower the quality of the wiki or disrupt the functioning of the community. In most cases, users should be warned prior to blocking, though final discretion is left to the administrators. #'Spam' – Posting irrelevant spam links in articles, or creating articles which are entirely spam is grounds for an infinite block (for registered users) or a shorter-term IP block. #'Move vandalism' – Page move vandalism (moving an article to a nonsensical or inappropriate title) is grounds for immediate indefinite bans. #'Inappropriate account naming' – Creating an inappropriate account name - be it in terms of user impersonation/insult, or general rudeness/obscenity is also grounds for a no-warning infinite block. #'Disruption' – Users who disrupt the wiki (be it via changing other people's comments, making misleading edits, or harassing other users) may also be blocked. #'Copyright violations' – Users who continually post copyrighted material despite being warned should be blocked so as to prevent further violations. #'Blanking pages' – users should typically be warned prior to being blocked for page blanking, except in extreme cases where the blanking is obviously being done with malicious intent - i.e. 4 articles blanked in one minute. #'Fanon' – users adding fanon should almost always be warned prior to blocking. #'Personal attacks ' – Users attacking other editors personally (in regards to anything) should be given one warning prior to a cool-off ban. The length of the ban is dependent on the severity of personal attacks. What will get you blocked? *Deliberately breaking policies to mock the Administrators or helpful users. *Creating irrelevant articles in the mainspace. *Inappropriate language or material. (This content will always be removed and erased from the page history.) *Constantly inserting false information into articles. *Inserting nonsense/gibberish into pages. *Intimidating behavior or harassment of other users. *Removing legitimate content from pages, including, but not limited to, blanking. *Sockpuppetry, Meatpuppetry, or impersonation. *Spamming links to external sites. *Unacceptable username. *Userpage vandalism. *Violation of any of the wiki's Policies. What will not get you blocked *'If you remember and follow all the rules.' *Edit warring, unless the war grows into other policy violations. But we frown upon edit warring, so: when involved with an edit war, always stop and discuss. *Use of inappropriate language or material in a non-disruptive place (userspace, for example) that does not insult or harass another user. Such content will still be removed, but it will not issue a block (unless the action is repeated). Instant block In very rare cases, an editor may receive an instant block that comes without warning. These cases are extremely uncommon, but there are cases that cause it: *Profanity/explicit material *Creation of accounts made to impersonate other users If you are making an attempt to avoid instant blocks, then you're probably not going to receive one. As said above, instant blocks are quite uncommon. Block length guidelines With the exceptions noted above, any administrator may block any user that they determine is a detriment to the project. Final discretion is left to the blocking administrator on a case-by-case basis. A note to AOL users AOL uses a shared IP system (meaning they give out the same IP addresses to several people), so if you use AOL and are blocked for vandalism you didn't commit, contact an admin for assistance. Due to the fact that many of the acts of vandalism to this wiki come from AOL IPs, we block each AOL IP that made the offense. The only way not to get blocked due to the actions of others is to switch Internet Service Providers (ISPs). If this is not an option, then just refresh your page until the block message goes away and do any major edits offline.